The Royal Wedding: Top 10 Curious Facts

With only 29 days left and counting some have called it the fairytale wedding of the century. When Prince William marries Miss Catherine Middleton on April 29, it is estimated that there will be a worldwide audience of between one and two billion people. But did you know that Paul McCartney and Elton John could be performing at the ceremony? There’s a lot of secrecy surrounding the details of the royal wedding. Here are 10 curious facts you might not have heard:

Kate Middleton will be 29 when she marries Prince William. This will make her the oldest spinster to marry a prince in the history of the English monarchy. Older women have married future kings, but they were divorcees.

Fellow students at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland – where Prince William studied for his Geography degree – have revealed that Kate Middleton was nicknamed “Beautiful Kate” and Prince William was known as “P.Willy.”

If Prince William had wanted to marry before his twenty-fifth birthday, he would have needed the consent of his grandmother the Queen. As it happens, he was born on 21 June 1982, so he’ll be 28 when he marries Catherine on April 29.

Unlike Princess Diana, who arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral in a horse-drawn carriage, Kate Middleton will arrive at Westminster Abbey in a limousine from the Queen’s fleet of cars. This sense of modesty seems to be popular in all aspects of the wedding arrangements.

When Prince William’s grandmother Elizabeth was in Kenya, she learnt of her father’s death and returned to England knowing she would become Queen Elizabeth. Kenya is also where Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton. Could this be more than a coincidence?

For the first time in royal wedding history, Prince William and Kate Middleton have decided to invite 100 members of the British public to their wedding. The lucky few will also be allowed to attend the afternoon reception at Buckingham Palace. Everyone else will have to watch it on TV.

The Queen will probably offer Prince William the title of Duke of Cambridge or Duke of Sussex. But according to some sources, the future king wants to keep the title of Prince William, and can choose not to accept another title. If this happens, Kate will be known as Princess William of Wales. Technically, she could only be called Princess Catherine if the Queen decides it to be appropriate.

Although it remains a secret, the Queen’s home of Balmoral could be one of the settings for the newlywed’s honeymoon. The Queen and Prince Philip, and Prince Charles and Princess Diana both spent some of their honeymoons at the Scottish estate.

Prince William has decided to invite members of the homeless community and soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan to the wedding. Just like the humanitarian principles displayed by his late mother, this aspect of Prince William’s character will help to strengthen the image of the royal family around the world.

Prince William and Kate Middleton could be the first royal couple to sign a prenuptial agreement, according to some sources. It would make sense, considering the fallout from the Prince Charles and Princess Diana divorce that ultimately damaged the image of the royal family. Hopefully, it won’t spoil the romance of this couple’s wedding and will only strengthen their relationship.

Undoubtedly the wedding ceremony will give the media many more things to talk about. Will Paul McCartney and Elton John be performing at the church? We shall have to wait and see…

If you’ve got your own special wedding day coming up, no doubt you’re feeling pretty special yourself. And when it comes to giving your guests a momento of your grand day, these Kate Aspen fleur-de-lis candle holders waiting for them at their reception dinner tables would look elegant and a little regal. You can find them at All Occasions Favors & Gifts.